We might applaud his attempt as a brave last-ditch effort, but it turns out it was disappointingly half-hearted.

First Simon was caught running a organized credit card forgery. He had pleaded guilty to credit card fraud in 2007, but since then lived as a fugitive, working as a magician while hiding from the police. Caught again in Astoria, Queens in 2008, he is now condemned to 285 months of prison, or 24 years.

Hoping to earn some points from a kind-hearted judge, he turned in photos of himself doing charity work and letters that referenced his good nature.

It's not a bad idea, but it was very poorly executed. The photos were obviously photo-shopped. Apparently, he didn't even use a different picture of himself for the pictures, he just flipped it. (We're currently on a search for the photos.)

In addition to that, he conjured fake letters of support from random individuals in court.

So it's no surprise the judge did not applaud his last hattrick; he's going to jail.